Lancia Fulvia is coming

The new Lancia Fulvia coupe may still make it into production, according to sources in Italy. The Fiat Auto brand first showed its modern update of the classic Fulvia coupe in concept form at the Frankfurt show in 2003, where it was received enthusiastically.However, a combination of Fiat’s then-rocky financial situation and the fact that the show car was based on the ageing Mk2 Fiat Punto platform put the concept on ice.Sources in Italy now say that the project has been revived and it could appear as soon as the Paris motor show this September. However, industry opinion differs on the form the car will take. Some sources say the Lancia Fulvia will be engineered with a folding hard-top; others say it will be a regular coupe.In any case, it’s thought that the Fulvia will get the same platform that underpins Alfa Romeo’s Mito hatch. Although this chassis is based on the current Punto, its A-pillar design has been expensively re-engineered to make cleaner rooflines more feasible.It’s thought that the final car will differ from the retro-styled concept of 2003. In a recent interview with Autocar, Lancia design chief Marco Tencone hinted at the fresh design direction of future new models.“When you start in a new segment, you need a new design,” he said. “In future you need different languages for different cars, sporting and mainstream. We will be evolving the [Lancia] design language.”

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I'm not a fan of retro (although I do like the Mini) but I hope the Fulvia is as close in looks as possible to the original coupe. The original '60's car was teeth-achingly beautiful in my opinion and one of the first cars I ever lusted after. I never managed to get my hands on one unfortunately, though I did buy a kingfisher blue Lancia Beta HPE in the early '80's which I still have fond memories of - it looked great , it went well and I didn't have a minutes trouble with it for the 6 years I had it

Autocar, why have you put pictures of the Lancia Delta in with the only picture of the Fulvia?

The Fulvia however looks fabulous. I only hope they fit it with a proper canvas hood rather than the SLK style hood. Much more in keeping with the retro feel. I also find it amusing that yet again designers feel the need to look back to look forward and yet it works far better than the Delta as depicted in the above mentioned photo's.

Love it. Hope they don't change the design too much and that, as mentioned above, they keep the fabric hood. Nothing against folding metal tops, in fact I think they're great, but in this instance it really needs to be a fabric top. The concept looks proportionately similar to the Fiat Barchetta.

1. There is retro & retro. The Mini has retained the stamp of the original - providing i spades its creator's primary objective, namely a strong character in an era of insipid productions. (Note: Bernd Pichetsrieder was 1st cousin once removed of Sir Alec Issigonis.)

2. I loved my Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF more than any other car in a very long list, so much so that I bought her several thousand pounds worth of spare parts and shipped her to Australia when I moved there in 1974.

[quote theGav]though I did buy a kingfisher blue Lancia Beta HPE in the early '80's which I still have fond memories of - it looked great , it went well and I didn't have a minutes trouble with it for the 6 years I had it[/quote]

I suspect you were lucky if it lasted 6 years. I quite fancied one too, but the brand new one in the showroom was already rusting, and a nine month one they also had for sale was looking distinctly tatty round the edges. Having already owned an Alfa Alfetta GTV that had a full respray under warranty, I walked away. I really liked the Alfa, but I wanted an easier ownership proposition.

I do like the look of the new Fulvia, but if they end up being sold through the present Fiat dealers they are almost certainly doomed to failure. My nearest normal Fiat dealer is a joke, and a pretty bad one at that.

If they decide to use the Abarth dealers for Lancia as well, that won't work, for me at least. My nearest Abarth dealer is a 150 mile round trip away, which is too far for servicing, let alone any warranty work.